the 22nd week

Turns out that "squirrels with guns"
is a big deal to a lot of people out there.

Monday. Surprisingly, I didn't work early this morning, instead closing with Amos (where I accidentally flooded the backroom with mop-water because I just forgot about it). Before our close I went to The Anchor to do some writing, and after work Brandy came over and we smoked hookah and blew smoke bubbles. All night it was col and rainy and dark (obviously, because it was night-time and all). "It's GROSS out there!" Blake exclaimed. He's terrified of birds. Not just birds of prey, which would be logical, but ALL birds. Carly texted me, tried out Dusmesh for the first time. She was all up in knots about it, but who wouldn't be? I'd eat there every day if I could. 

Tuesday. I missed my morning trip to The Anchor because I forgot to set my alarm. We were superbly slow, finished by 5:00 and just waiting to close, and after work we had our training with Roberto. I spent the evening hanging out with Ams and Amos, had some pretzels for dinner, and did some writing and shot zombies. Mandy, Rob, and Ams grabbed donuts from Kroger, and Ams let me have one of hers!

Wednesday. Turns out that donut I ate was actually Mandy's. Welp. I was thinking about going to The Anchor before my 7:30 shift, woke up at 5:30, got up, had my morning cigarette, and then said, "To hell with this," and slept till about 7:00. Being the day before Thanksgiving with the vast majority of our customers being off work or out-of-town, we were insanely slow, the deadest day I've ever worked. I was done with all my stuff by about 8:30, and I spent the rest of the morning just hanging out and drinking cappuccinos and lattes and eating marked-out cookies with Emily, Khristian, and Tiffany. I got out early and then ran off to the discount Gap outlet to buy some new clothes. Mandy tagged along and even drove ('cause she has her IPOD radio and my normal radio doesn't work in the cold, period). I got a winter jacket, three shirts, and a pair of jeans for $60, that's about a $200 value. It was pretty awesome. We took 471N back and marveled at the majestic skyline at sunset on our way across the bridge. I had a wrap for dinner and spent the night mostly alone, until Jessie and Tony came by (they're house-sitting at the Sulzener's), and then Ams and I hung out quite late into the night.

THANKSGIVING. I went to The Anchor for breakfast and got home just in time to bid farewells to Rob and Mandy (headed to Indianapolis), and to Blake as well (who flew south to Lexington). ("Flew" here being a figure of speech, i.e. he went there quickly; no one would fly from here to Lexington, unless you were rich or piloting a medivac, since it's only like an hour and a half drive.) Ams and I prepped for the day and then joined the parents in Dayton and then shot up to New Carlisle. Lunch was grand as always: turkey, sweet potatoes, whole wheat rolls, a wild assortment of casseroles, all polished off with homemade apple cider and coffee. Megan had her newborn there; "Wanna hold her?" "No," I said. I don't hold fresh babies, I'm just too afraid I'll drop one and break it and be in jail the rest of my life whilst being hated by family. So, no, I'll pass on that. When we got back to Dayton--after a dessert of pumpkin pie sprinkled with glaze pecans--Aunt Teri & Uncle Bill were at the house with Grandma. So good to see them all. "Have you lost more weight?" Bill asked. No, I've actually gained like 5-6 pounds in the last two months; but people say I look better now than I did when I was getting sickly skinny. When Ams and I got home, I got to meet her work friend Josh, and I watched "Elf" in Blake's room and all but passed out in his bed. I fought the urge. His sheets, they're like satin, I can't begin to imagine the thread-count.

BLACK FRIDAY. "Do you know why it's called Black Friday? 'Cause after the pilgrims had their Thanksgivings, they had discounted slave auctions the next day." - another classic quote from Andy Waugh. I slept in this morning till 10:00, had O.J. for breakfast and ran by the bank. I went for an afternoon drive through Eden Park and back, and at the house I cranked The Avett Brothers over House Tunes and did some writing. 'Round 3:00 I met up with Jessie and Tony at Skyline. It was so good catching up with her, reflecting on our "glory days" at C.C.U.  and all our hysterical and cherished memories. I had a goofy outburst and the waitress across the room exclaimed, "What the hell was that?!" to which I raised my hand and confessed. She gave me weird looks the rest of the meal. Oh: Jessie's old Bloc pal Sam was walking down the road, and Jessie beckoned her in, and she ate with us, too. Amos came home and we were gonna go visit Ams at Chic-Fil-A but he went to Brandy's to house-sit with her, so I went ahead and did some more writing. I went to The Anchor in the evening, doing some scripting for my zombie story. T.J. came over, and we drank beer and shot zombies and had good Front Porch Times with Blake and Rob.

Saturday. I went to The Anchor upon waking, did some decent writing, still plowing through Act 2. When I got back I hung out with Mandy and her cousin Cameron (who came home with them late last night). Around noon I got Dusmesh with T.J., and I hung out with Mandy afterwards. Blake, Brandy, Amos and Andy were all there, too. At one point Mandy and I were just sitting in the front yard, me in a chair and her in the grass, just enjoying nature. And then she found an entire world swallowed up in the chipping paint and archaic rust on the hood of my car. "I feel like a little clown-fish wrapped in a sea anemone when I'm with you guys! Can you imagine how great it'd be to be a clown-fish in a sea anemone? Because that's how great it is to be with you guys." I headed up to Dayton to celebrate Thanksgiving with Mom's side: we grabbed Marion's Pizza, even ordered ahead so we could get there, eat up, and get out without any messes. It was fun seeing everyone: Aunt Teri & Uncle Bill, Grandma, Jared & Ashley, and Jesse & Mandy (who's pregnant, woot-woot). And Boozer came, too! After our dinner we drank beers and spiced eggnog and played some cards games like Phase 10. Ams and I didn't get home 'till about midnight, and I promptly passed out.

Sunday. I woke up bloated and hurting from Dusmesh and Marion's yesterday, and my bowels were quite clear: "Let's not do this again." Duly noted, and I have a monkey's gait to prove it. I slept in till 11:00, much to everyone's surprise. I haven't slept that late in like a year. I cleaned my room and shared coffee and cigarettes on the front porch with Cameron and Amos. Did some pleasant writing, went to the bank, and had a Bolthouse smoothie for lunch. It started to rain so Mandy, Amos, Ams, Cameron and I played Phase 10. Andy came over bearing some coffee from Nashville, and a whole bunch of us just spent the evening hanging out and shooting zombies (it's kind of our thing).